let's bring it on home damon style. a word to the wise, don't mess with matt damon. if you do, you'll end up smatted down and on the ridiculist. >> anderson will be back down a on "the ridiculist." that does it for this edition of "360." thanks for watching. "american morning" starts right now. doing the right thing for the rice reasons is always the right thing to do. >> a tax deal to stop the tax hike. your paycheck not shrinks. at least not yet. the house blinks and congress strike as deal on extending the payroll tax, but the tea party may be planning a last stand. and he says he's the turnaround expert, but did mitt romney actually cash in on slashing jobs during his time in the business world? an earthquake shakes the same new zealand city devastated less than one year ago on this "american morning."

-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. it's friday, december 23rd. i'm deb feyerick an with alina cho on this "american morning." good morning to all of you out in. >> so glad you're with us. up first, an early christmas present for 160 million americans. the house is expected to vote today on extending the payroll tax cut that divided washington for weeks. house republicans caved yesterday after a lot of arm-twisting by president obama who stead was the disgust of the american people that broke the log jam. boehner saying his side still wants a one-year extension but saw the political reality. >> we have fought the good fight. i talked to a number of members over the past 24 hours who believe that, hey, we don't like this two-month extension, we don't like this reporting problem in the senate bill, and

if you can get this fixed, why not -- why not do the right thing for the american people, even though it's not exactly what we want. >> president obama immediately congratulated congressional leaders on the deal. a white house statement saying, "this is the right thing to do to strengthen our family, grow our economy and create new jobs. this is real money that will make a real difference in people's lives." so how much real money? well, it comes out to about $83 per month for the average family. about $1,000 over the course of a year, but, remember, this is only a two-month extension. and there are still some things standing in the way. some big things. this is congress, of course. kate bolduan live in washington. here we go again. kate, good morning. now the tea party could still put a stop to the deal? >> reporter: put it this way, the deal needs to be approved both by the house and senate still and leaders are planning to bring this up for a vote using a procedural maneuver allowing them to pass the bill

without having to call all of the members back to town. requires unanimous agreement around this -- around the measure in order to push it through, which also means that one person could honestly show up on the house floor, say they object and stall the whole thing, but it would seem, though, that would only delay the inevitable, because speaker boehner said last night if someone would object today if they're expected to bring it up for a vote, he would absolutely in his word call the house back next week to hold a full house vote and the deal would certainly see big support from democrats this time around and very likely pass, but to use an overused phrase, i guess, what a difference a day make, alina? just yesterday we talking about both sides digging in and now basically it's a done deal. >> about an hour before a key conference call, speaker boehner was still calling for a one-year extension. what changed yesterday, kate? >> reporter: to sum it up in a word, the pressure, really. you had president obama

effectively using his bully pull it and had you reliable conservative voices like the "wall street journal" editorial page calling on the house speaker to cut his losses and aid glee to a tagree to a two-m. the last straw yesterday, senator mitch mcconnell, really silent until yesterday throughout the standoff broke with speaker boehner and called on the house to give in. and the fact members say they were hearing it from constituents when they went home for only just a few days, since there was a vote early this week. frustration that congress is so dysfunctional. seems the pressure really mounted, and speaker boehner kind of alluded to that in a press conference last night, alina. saying something to the effect of, maybe it wasn't -- their opposition maybe wasn't the most politically smart thing to do in this situation. >> all right. so the deal is a two-month extension. kate bolduan, as always, watching it all for us. thanks so much. >> thanks. could the tea party derail

this deal? well, freshman congressman tim huelskamp will talk about it coming up. and carbomb s kploeded. the attacks bear the hallmark of al qaeda. senior international correspondent mohammed jamjoom. what do we know? who do you think is responsible for this? >> reporter: well, deb, details still emerging, but the scenes that are being broadcast on syrian state television show utter devastation. according to syrian state-run media, two suicide car bombs that bear the hallmark of an al qaeda-style attack exploded earlier today outside two security mansions in damascus.

this attack followed the arrival of an arab league committee, an addadvanced team came into the country to talk about the violence in this uprising and the ensuing crackdown. what we know from syrian state media the bombers startinged the state security direct rorate an another branch and even though a number of casualties were reported according to state media, they have flnot announce how many are wounded and how have died at this stage. >> we'll check in late other than as you monitor the situation, mohammed jamjoom. the u.s. is offering $10 million for the capture of an alleged al qaeda operative. accused of running money and new recruits from iran to pakistan and afghanistan. officials say he is a chief fund-raiser for the terror groom and a danger to the united states. his capture could shut down a

big financial resource for al qaeda. pakistan is disputing the results of the pentagon's investigation into last month the air strike that killed 24 of its soldiers. the defense department report found u.s. forces acted in self-defense after being fired upon. pakistani intelligence say the u.s. fired first and it pakistani return fire that prompted the air strike. a string the strong air strikes strikes new zealand. you see the building shaking there. it happened near christ church at the country's second largest city. rockfalls caused problems for drivers. the city was evacuated after the first kuwait and all city malls shut down as a precaution. at least two people were hurt. this town is still on edge after a devastating quake rattled the area back in february.

well, it's the last full weekday before christmas and a lot of people are traveling. countless holiday travel plans, we should tell you, are in jeopardy his morning after heavy rainfall in the rockies, soaking rains in the south and colorado, overnight a system dumped more than a foot of snow in and around denver. to the south of new mexico a family of three is safe after spending nearly two days trapped in their suv. they were buried in a snow drift. rescue herself to dig through four feet of ice and snow to get to them, and in georgia, at least seven people were injured, thousands without power, after a strong line of storms moved through overnight. there was also a ground stop at atlanta's hartsfield-jackson international airport. that's where holly firfer is standing by live and reynolds wolf in the weathcenter for us. first to reynolds. what's the forecast? >> a lot better today for parts of the nation. you're right about what you mentioned moments ago.

parts the southeast, especially atlanta. now behind it, drier, more calm air. still rough conditions and delays in terms of the northeast, new york, all your metros. morning clouds, rain, wind giving delays up to an hour. boston, physical, d.c. metro basically the same. get back to parts of the midwest, the western great lakes, snow delays just understand an hour in the twin cities. meanwhile, the forecast will look for the rest of the nation, good. snow sticking around in parts of the northeast. and scattered showers in north texas. the snow shifting farther south away from denver into places like new mexico. snow showers we have in upstate new york and back into vermont and in new hampshire we're going to see those in the mid-day hours into the afternoon. some of the heavy snowfall, seen in the highest elevation, perhaps the green mountains. four to six inches of snowfall. great for the ski resorts. also great for ski resorts in new mexico, one to three inches of snowfall for albuquerque,

check it out. close to a foot of snow for 7,500 feet and higher. winds a big factor. anyone making their way through the high pass, may have whiteout conditions. be careful today. terms of temperature, fairly mild day in harts of texas into florida. still worrying about rains in the sunshine state. along i-95 88. and 44 in seattle and new york with 48 degrees for your high. let's send it back to you. >> reynolds, thanks so much. see new atlanta later today. maybe tomorrow. want to go live now to holly firfer in atlanta's hartsfield-jackson airport where service was disrupted three hours last night because of weather there. holly, what's it looking like this morning? >> reporter: good morning, alina. looking a lot better. not a very good morning for the hundreds of passengers who got stuck here last night. they woke up at the airport this morning not in the greatest of moods. that nearly three-hour grondstop

affected 5,200 planes. a lot of people couldn't take off or land and a lot of people missedconnections. here's a guy who through in from ervine, california. did you have to spend the night? what happened? >> yes, we -- actually my wife is driving over from tulsa to pick me up, because the first two flights out this morning are both full. so -- >> reporter: wow. doing a ten-hour round trip to come here? >> yes, yes. >> reporter: and he said both flights he was trying to get on this morning were booked, and he wasn't going to take the chance of spending anymore time at the airport here this morning, and i can tell you as we walk through the airport, the lines for coffee were longer than the lines at security. for all of those waking up and needing to get a start on the day. but it is supposed to be a nice day. it's supposed to be mild and sunny here. officials hope everything can

get back on track and they can get all of these passengers out and alina, get them to their destination in time for the holidays. >> 5,200 planes. holly what a mess. thank you so much for that update. in the lines getting better at the coffee, the people going through tsa will maybe have good news. tsa launching a toll-free hot line for travelers with special medical needs. it's called tsa cares. and it's supposed to help fliers before they get to the airport. any questions about screening procedures will be answered, and the tsa can coordinate or attempt to coordinate checkpoint support. the agency suggests calling 72 hours in advance. that number is 855-787-2227. it's open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. eastern monday through friday. mitt romney says he has a record of creating jobs, but records from his own firm suggests he made millions from cutting them and may still be making money from those cuts. we'll have details just ahead.

plus a new poll out this morning reveal what's americans say are the most important issues facing this country right now. and if anything is going to get this woman a job, this is. . take a look. a woman in georgia is hoping her christmas display will help land her a job. her resume's up in lights, is it working? we'll tell you. it's 13 minutes after the hour. act my age? -why? -why? -why? [ female announcer ] we all age differently. roc® multi-correxion 4 zone moisturizer with roc®retinol and antioxidants. lines, wrinkles, and sun damage will fade. roc multi-correxion. correct what ages you. i know you're worried about making your savings last and having enough income when you retire. that's why i'm here. to help come up with a plan and get you on the right path. i have more than a thousand fidelity experts working with me so that i can work one-on-one with you. it's your green line. but i'll be there, every step of the way. call or come in for a free portfolio review today.

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and welcome back. is 16 past the hour. here's what's new this morning. army officials fearing problems with thousands of graves at arlington national cemetery. for a year now officials have weren't working to account for every grave at the 150-year-old cemetery. that may be impossible, because nearly 65,000 of those graves could have errors. congress or ord congress ordered a report after discovering missing remain. the center for disease control investigating the death of a missouri baby that could be linked to enfamil, a powderrd

form ra for newborns. the 10 day old died from a bacterial infection and they're looking at a case of another baby who survived that infection. the company says that batch tested negative before it was shipped. walmart pulled the formula off its shelves. and a new plant to be built in the united states in three decades is one step closer to breaking ground. federal regulators approved the design for the new reactor, also used for plants in georgia and south carolina. it's the number one issue in the race for the white house. we're talking, of course, about the economy, and according to a new cnn/orc poll just out this morning, 57% of americans say the economy is the most important issue facing this country. and when asked, what's the most important economic problem facing the country? 51% say unemployment. 27% say it's the deficit. and mitt romney is breaking a long-held tradition among

presidential candidates in both parties. the former massachusetts governor says he's not going to release his tax returns. >> that's right. romney made millions running private equity firm bank capital, says he helped create jobs. records show he presided over massive layoffs and is still making money from those deals. cnn's brian todd has the story. >> reporter: it's one of his strongest campaign talking points. he'll get the jobs back. as someone who once led a successful investment firm, he says he's got the experience to do it. >> and every investment we made was designed to try and grow that investment, grow that enterprise, ultimately to add jobs and success. that's been my hope and my record. >> reporter: but there's fresh xrultny scrutiny of mitt romney. that he was involved in large-scale layoffs and may still be profiting from the deals which resulted in layoffs. according to his financial disclosure form for this year, he negotiate add retirement deal from that firm when he left the company in 1999.

as part of the deal, romney received an undisclosed share of the firm's profits and hasn't had any say in what the firm does, but romney does still have holdings in bayne capital that generate income for him. he made over $3 million in income from transactions made by bayne or its affiliated companies this year. what do they do? >> its primary business is acquiring companies, trying to improve the companies and sell that company or take that company public hopefully for a higher price. sometimes they shrink the company before they grow it. sometimes they truly buy a company and add employees in various divisions. >> reporter: contacted by cnn, romney's campaign said bayne capital had a good track record creating companies like staples and doman oino's pizza. and it drove dade industries out of business and people out of work.

whenfirst made those companies slightly profitable but took dividends while adding to their debt. in a new interview with "time" posted online, romney responded to that. >> in any case where i was involved in an ain investment in a company that was not successful, one would have to feel terrible about someone losing a job. >> reporter: a record romney will have to defend at every step during the campaign. does it hurt him politically when hi work for the company actually resulted in a lot of layoffs even with some successful ventures? >> nothing would be more important for mitt romney if he is the republican nominee than defending his record at bayne. >> reporter: they said romney's dealt with it before, when he ran for senate against ted kennedy saying kennedy attacked romney slamming his record at bayne capital, the job losses, bankruptcy. he says romney didn't hand that well and it cost him that election. brian todd, cnn, washington. >> hmm. when it comes to jobs you've got get a gimmick.

an unemployed woman in georgia is using her christmas display to find a job. her lights say, take a look, "my wish, hr job." she was laid off from a human resources job back in september and it looks like her vested play might actually be working. >> i've had people stop when i'm out and telling me about a position that they know of their company or some other company. i've had a lot of linkedin messages and a lot of linkedin views. >> and hickok says she's getting e-mails from as far away as italy. she may just get that job. >> i'm betting she'll get a job. she wins points for creativity. coming up, former senator john edwards want to delay his conspiracy trial again saying he's dealing with a mystery illness. we'll explain just ahead. ♪

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mond mpd. u.s. stock futures trading higher after the dow's straight day of gains. the markets lifted by a better than expected reading on the labor market. italy approved a $40 billion plan to eliminate its budget deficit by 2013. the package which has grown increasingly unpopular, will increase taxes, reinstate a property tax on homes and raise the retirement age. the italian government hopes the plan will stimulate the economy and stabilize the euro. italy has the third largest economy in europe. back here in the united states, mortgage rates hitting new lows. according to freddie mac, down to 3.91%. that's the lowest in a survey's

40-year history. the justice department is green lighting a merger between the new york stock exchange and operator of germany's frankfurt stock exchange. it would be required to sell its stake in a thert smaller u.s. stock exchange. yahoo! weighing in on a deal to unload asian assets. according to the "new york times" worth $17 billion. here's the catch. yahoo!'s entire value, $18 billion. which would mean if yahoo! sells its stake in china's giant, the company itself would be orth around $1 billion, putting it in the same league as struggling aol. steve jobs will awarded a special grammy for his contributions to the music industry. he died pancreatic pancreatic c earlier.

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well, we got a deal. congress on its way to extending the payroll tax cut for millions of working americans, but could angry tea party members derail everything? we'll speak to one of them on this "american morning." we're so glad you're with us this morning. is 6:30 and time for the morning's top stories. congress now on track to keep the payroll tax cut in place. the house expected to vote today after house speaker john boehner announced the gop is now on board. the two-month deal, at least, for the time being. the typical worker gets to hold on to about $40 a pay check. the u.s. is offering a $2 million reward for the capture of an alleged al qaeda operative. his name, al suri, accused of

runs new recruits from afghanistan to pakistan. he's danger to the u.s., officials spap his capture could shut down a big financial resource for al qaeda. and new zealand rocked by a series of earthquakes today. a 5.8 magnitude quake struck christ church, the second largest city there. less than 90 minutes later, another 5.92 quake. several aftershocks followed. falling rock made driving difficult. at least two people were hurt. back to the top story. house speaker john boehner expects the house to pass a two-month extension ever the payroll tax holiday today. the announcement was dramatic turn from two days ago when it was calmed nonsense. >> i've been around here for a while. i've seen congress kick the can down the road, kick the can downed road. it's time to stop the nonsense. >> not so fast.

last night boehner admit head might have made a mistake, politically speaking. >> may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world, but let me tell you what, i think our members waged a good fight. we were able to come to an agreement. we were able to fix what came out of the senate. >> the deal will gikeep 168 mil families from a tax hike on january 1st. joining us now by phone, representative huelskamp, good morning. thank you for join us. you are obviously not happy with the deal. calling it america's uncertainty with the government. tell us what you thought about when the heard the deal struck? >> certainly disappointed. a one-year ex-expenstension. the idea you can set up your pay roll for 60 days at a time is

very uncertain and the house passed an extension for the entire year and let's fall back and giving in to the senate is very disappointing. >> in your best case scenario, what's the best deal in your eyes? >> well, the failure to consider anything more than two months. they had weeks and weeks and weeks to figure out and in the past nothing. passed a one-year extension, and to fall back and say, well, we'll pass it just for 60 days and come back, this is typical washington gimmicks. that's $40 a month. but we can't do it for two months -- beyond two months, which was exactly what folk outside of washington are saying what are they thinking? we went up to change the way they operate rather than do a 60-day extension to a one-year program. that's silly. >> devil's advocate. isn't that better than nothing at all? >> that's exactly what was said

when the senate went home on vacation. most americans are working through this time of year. so should the senate. the idea they couldn't come back and go for a year-long extension is silly. if you add differences between the house and senate, you talk about it. you just don't go home. that's what harry reid did. the gamesmanship going on in washington for the entire year. >> i think a lot of people are always curious to know what's goes on behind the scenes in congress. were you on that conference call when speaker boehner announced he agreed to the two-month extension just an hour before he had been fighting for the one-year extension. tell us what that call was like. >> well, we were quite surprised that we heard the rumors that perhaps we would cave, and that is the other problem that i think until the freshman class and most americans when they elect a new freshman class of about 87 new republican, expected new republicans go in and fight to break up a system

that's not working. and whether it's the deficit deal that raised the bar of $ trillion or the failure to implement many of the pledges to america, this is not what they were looking for. it was to do things that make sense. it makes no sense to continue a temporary tax holiday only for two moss when everybody's promising to do it for a year. there's plenty of time to get it done and this is disappointing i felt for certain they'd require them to come band and get the job done. >> before i go, listen to something. some have been critical of house republicans. take a listen to what massachusetts senator brown told erin burnett last night. >> some lessons learned. we need to work in a bipartisan manner to get something done and i think what everybody fails to realize in d.c. is that we're americans first, and we need to work together in this moment in time when we have an opportunity to do it better than the rest of

the world. >> urt. senate john mccain says you were harming the republican party. the "wall street journal" said with this move you might have just handed president obama the re-election. don't you worry about the political damage that has causes? >> i really do not. what i worry about is more of the same out of washington. the standard quo. the freshmen class, saying, why don't you change the status quo? they stand for prirnciples. we have a lot of work to do and most of willing to work through christmas if necessary to do what makes sense. i don't think any democrat actually, senator reid, president obama, former speaker pelosi, all said the same thing. we need a 12-month extension and here we are coming back to fight about this for two more months. if everybody agrees on a

12-month extension, why can't they get done? the same old same old in washington. they're more interested in politics than doing the right thing. >> you definitely speak for a segment of the population. representative huelskamp in kansas, thank you four joining us. coming up, we will talk to stephen mohr. saying they turned that payroll tax into a gift for president obama. john edwards says he's too stick to stand trial not saying what the illness is. the former presidential candidate faces conspiracy charges accused of lying to cover up an affair and giving campaign money to his mistress. his trial was supposed to start january 30th after another delay back in september. now edwards is asking for 60 more days because of this unexpected medical issue. north korea apparently will admit south korean delegations who wish to pay respects to its late leader kim jong-il. the north promises safe travel.

seoul already has sent a sympathy message but will only allow a limited number of private groups to send delegations to the north. north korea's dictator kim jong-il died on saturday on a train suffering a heart attack. well, still ahead, a few weeks ago he said he was the guy to beat. now newt gingrich a little more humble about his chances in iowa. and new jersey governor chris christie is in mitt romney's corner. how far is he willing to go to help him win all the way to washington? the veep talk is heating up. we'll tell what you he said. it's 38 minutes after the hour. vegas baby! maybe we should head back to the dealership first? vegas! no, this is a test drive. vegas! [ male announcer ] it's practically yours. but we still need your signature. volkswagen sign then drive is back. and it's never been easier to get a jetta. that's the power of german engineering. get zero first month's payment, zero down, zero security deposit and zero due at signing on any new volkswagen.

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welcome back. it's 41 minutes after the hour. just ten shopping days left for voters in iowa. newt gingrich keeping expectations low. cnn deputy political director paul steinhauser joins us. good morning. we want to talk about newt gingrich slipping in the polls knop surprise. trying to lower expectations a bit. what is he doing? >> you know politics sometimes exceeding expectations a is more important than actually winning a contest. you mentioned two weeks ago his

numbers were soaring, now coming back to earth. nationally, more importantly in iowa. just 11 days away from the iowa caucuses. take a listen to what newt gingrich said on the campaign trail yesterday. >> we're coming together very fast in iowa and i suspect will be very, very competitive. my goal, be in the 207 three, four. you can't tell. very bunches in the shear rate of money. to be in the top three or four, i'd love to win, possibly be in the top two in new hampshire nmp and win south carolina killer and florida and from then on become as more easy race. >> maybe more modest than iowa. pretty confident about everything else. >> falk about an about-face. gingrich is issuing a challenge to mitt romney anytime, anywhere he says? what's that about? >> a little bat blood between these two candidates that started about a week ago. you know, romney has an independent super pac putting up

a lot of ads. gingrich asked romney, tell them to knock it off. romney says, can't take the heat get out of the kitchen. gingrich, well, take it from here. >> i'll tell you what, he wants to test the heat, i'll meet him anywhere in iowa next week one-on-one 90 minutes. no moderator. he wants to clear out the kitchen i'll be glad to bring him anywhere. we'll bring his ads and he can respect them. >> i'm going to respect the other candidate by continuing to debates and debate up a the candidates that are credible candidates it will probably narrow down to two, maybe three people, as it did last time. it may well be speaker gingrich and myself and he'll get that chance. >> i don't think it's going to be a one on one, mano a mano debate between gingrich and romney. >> wow. and former press, not to be

confused with his son, former president bush, coming in? >> right. he told the "houston chronicle" he felt the governor was the best choice, but he wasn't a formal endorsement. romney himself said he was surprised. i had no idea it was coming. why does theal elder bush like romney? i think he's more mature and not bomb thrower. >> sound good to me. paul steinhauser, thank you. and congresswoman michele bachmann not discouraged. far from it. running fourth or fifth in the poll but tells cnn's don king people will be surprised what happens on january 3rd in iowa. >> this is phenomenal what we're seeing on the ground. iowa is not a media state where you buy time. it's real people. it's person to person, voter to voter, and that's what we're doing. we're making a very real

campaign, a positive campaign, and people are responding positively. people are going to be shocked what happens on january 3rd. we're thrill eed with the response. polls all the time. who cares. the main thing is what happens january 3rd. real people will have their say. what's who i have behind me, all of these good-looking people here in iowa and they have something 20 say to cnn and the michele bachmann on january 3rd. >> well, he was begged to run for president, but new jersey governor chris christie slammed the door shut on rumors he's running. but vp? christie is leaving that door open. in an interview help said he's consider it and talk about it with his wife if mitt romney came knocking. christie endorsed mitt romney for president after he announcing head wouldn't enter the race. christie says he want romney to be more aggressive and bold in his campaign. well, it is 6:45.

coming up, reuniting troops with their families this holiday. a lot of happiness there. the head of the fisher house foundation stops by to talk about the program to provide a home away from home for military families. and coming up in the 8:00 hour, something we're really looking forward to. we're going to talk to documentary filmmaker morgan of supersize me fame. the documentary star has a new star that could inspire your new year's resolution. stay tuned for that. it's 46 after the hour. s build . ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪

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and it's just about 10 minutes to the hour. here what you need to know to start your day. congress now on track to keep the payroll tax cut in place. the house expected to vote today after house speaker john boehner announced that the gop is onboard. it's a two-month deal that keeps $40 in your paycheck, at least for now. got to spend it or at least save it. the u.s. is offering $10 billion for the capture of an aemged al qaeda operative. al suri is accuses of funneling money and iranian recruits into afghanistan to strengthen the terror group. and suicide bombers strike two government building in syria. this morning car bombs exploded outside security offices in damascus. syrian tv reports a number of military and civilian casualties. reports say the attacks bear the hallmark of al qaeda.

former senator john edwards hoping to delay his conspiracy trial because of what he calls an unexpected medical issue. the trial is supposed to begin next month, but edwards is asking for an additional 60 days. edwards is accused of using campaign money to hide his affair. and the a series of earthquakes strikes christchurch, new zealand today. two 5.8 quakes each followed by aftershocks. at least two people hurt and roads hampered by falling rocks. it's called tsa cares. a toll-free hot line to help travelers who have special medical needs. agents are going to answer questions about screening procedures and their going to attempt to coordinate checkpoint support. you can reach the hot line monday 24r50u friday, 9:00 to 9:00 eastern. the number, 855-787- 227. well, that's the news you need to start your day. "american morning" back right after this.

and welcome back. the officialer house foundation giving an incredible gift to troops and their families, home away from home for the holidays. >> producing a house for soldiers receiving care at military centers like the walter reed medical center in washington, d.c. >> joining us now, chairman and ceo of the fisher house foundation, kenneth fisher. mr. fisher, thanks for being here with us today. one thing that is so interesting is i think as all of these troops return home, a lot of people don't understand how many wounded are out in. how many people are going to be coming back. needing services.

and not just about treating them, but about making sure they've got their families nearby. that's really what fisher house does. >> that's right. sometimes medicine just isn't enough. what fisher house does is promotes through our lodging and through our hero miles which we talked about the last time i was here, it provides this home away from home so families can become part of the healing process. we forget how important it is to have family around. >> you know, we -- this is the first modern war, with modern warfare, so we've reported many times over the years just how many more troops are surviving, versus dying. and that creating another type of problem. by some estimates, taking care of these veterans could cost $1 trillion. are we prepared noor? >> for that? >> well, as a nation we have learned some great lessons from the past. and we are -- i think in terms of military health care, the care that they're receiving is

world class. as we all know, the survivor rate was up almost to 96%. what that does, though, is tax the system to a certain extent, especially as it relates to families because the v.a. will handle the rehabilitation on an ongoing basis. that's where fisher house comes in. a lot of what we're doing is geared towards the v.a. in the future. where the rehab is going to happen and so forth and some cases -- >> halfway house? >> yes. in some ways families have gone from fisher house at the hospital to a fisher house at the v.a. with the ongoing rehabilitation. >> that's important. not only does it keep families together but puts people in a similar situation in an environment where they can support one another, talk about the pain, about the grief, about reconciling, how do you come back into your home, your city, your town, with these injuries that may preclude you from getting a job? it's going to be tough for these

folks. >> it's going to be touch, but you touched on something very important. the by-product of the houses is the support system it forms, and families come from all over with basically two things in common. one, they need an affordable place to stay, and, two, they've got a loved one who's been wounded or become sick. so that factor, i think, and the houses are promoted to promote that -- that by-product. >> camaraderie. >> absolutely. last time we had you on the program i was talking to you about the hero miles program, whereby regular americans can donate their air miles to family members of wounded troops so that they can travel to see them. you had another component to that, which was hotel stays. how is that going? >> we're still working on it, but we're encouraged. it's going to happen sometime in 2012. >> great. >> but the hero miles which we announced the last time i was here, 25,000 tickets. >> wow. that's amazing.

>> just since october. >> yes. >> incredible. >> you see the people want to at least help, they want to participate. are you looking to expand this? because there's going to be a greater need. this is not something that's just going to last a tweer, two years or three years. we're talking about a min mun of a dozen years if not longer than that, really. >> that's true. when we say expanding it, we're going to keep going where we're needed, and we work very closely with the v.a. and the department of defense. they tell us where the needs are going to be the greatest on an ongoing basis, and so we will suppliment in some cases or we'll go where we haven't been before. >> finally before we let you go. of course, it's the holidays and we always like to think about what we're thankful for. is there a particularly poignant story of a family or family whose talk about what fisher house means to them? >> each story is compelling. and it would be difficult to isolate just one, because, you know, through the 21 years of the program, we have helped

almost 160,000 families. >> wow. amazing. >> and we've saved them almost $175 million in lodging expenses. so isolating one story when they're all so compelling. >> right. >> is difficult. >> it's incredible. especially because these families are so vulnerable and need so much, and even the smallest gift of generosity is huge. ken fisher, thank you so much for joining us. we really appreciate it. >> thank you. ahead next, the payroll tax truce. the house set to vote in a matter of hours. what it means for your money and what the two-month-long political battle means in 2012. what do you got? restrained driver in a motor vehicle.

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[♪...] >> male announcer: book now, save up to 65%. call 1-800-sandals. doing the right thing for the right reasons is always the right thing to do. >> it's a christmas miracle. congress strike as deal. the house set to keep the payroll tax cut in place past the new year, but the tea party? they may be planning a last stand. wanted. the u.s. now offering $10 million for this man. al qaeda's chief money man. and striking again. earthquake shaking the same new zealand city that was devastated less than one year ago.

and they will never dream of a white christmas ever again. at least not this family. they were caught in a snow drift for two days. another nasty winter storm putting holiday plans in jeopardy. all you need to know on this "american morning." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good morning. it's friday, december 23rd. two more shopping days before christmas. good morning, everybody. i'm alina cho along with deb feyerick. so glad you're with us this morning. up first, an early christmas present for 160 million working americans. the house expected to vote today on extending the payroll tax cut that divided washington for weeks. so what is in it for you? what does it xblemean? the legislation will keep the payroll tax rate at 4.2%. otherwise it would have expired on december 31st shooting up to 6.2%. this also expires at the end of two months.

it comes out to about $83 per month for the average family. that's about $1,000 over the course of a year, but, again, this sewn a two-month extension. house republicans caved yesterday after a lot of arm twisting by president obama who said it was the disgust of the american people that broke the log jam. speaker john boehner saying his side still want add one-year extension. he also admitted that opposes the senate's two-month plan maybe was not politically smart. >> we have fought the fight, the good fight, but, you know, i talked to enough members over the last 24 hours who believe that, hey, listen, we don't like this two-month extension. we don't like this reporting problem be in the senate bill, and if you can get this fixed, why not -- why not do the right thing for the american people? even though it's not exactly what we want. >> and there's still some things standing in the way today, and

this is congress, of course. kate bolduan is live in washington. and, kate, the tea party not having a very good time with this. they do not want this passed at all? >> reporter: there are many members, conservative members of the house specifically, that don't you still -- still have issues with the payroll tax. they don't think it's good economic policy and don't think especially this two-month extension provides the certainty that businesses and americans need. that said, the deals, as we've learned it, is likely to still become law, but there's, of course, a catch. the deal does need to be approved by both the house and the senate, both chambers are convening today for short sessions this morning and will take up votes right away on this and the leaders are planning to bring the extensions up for a vote using a procedural move allowing them to pass the bill without having to call all the members back to town. the catch, requires unanimous agreement. if one person shows up on the house floor and says i about the

it could stall the whole thing, but it seems like the reality is,s that would delay the inevitable as speaker boehner said last night. if someone would object he would eventually likely next week call the house back for a full vote. you can be sure this time around, this compromise will garner large democratic support. >> and, kate, quickly. what is the mood in on capitol hill? because, geez, it seems like a lot of energy for something that really is just going to last for two years. and nobody wants to give back $40 a paycheck, but still a lot of energy on something that seems so circular? >> reporter: well, it kind of -- to be honest, par for the course of how contentious pretty much every issue has been on capitol hill. i think as many were saying, this fight became almost more symbolic than it was actually policy wise, as they have other big battles that they will be fighting. though no one wants to be on the side of facing blame for letting

a tax cut for 160 million americans expire, especially while the economy is still struggling, but i'll tell thaw you it's the pressure that broke the log jam. the mood is resignation that they need to get done. they know they're approval rating, meaning congress, is at an all-time low and this latest battle does not help that, and they know that. >> all right. kate bolduan, thanks so much for the sad word you have to use, resignation. we'll check in a little later. president obama immediately congratulated congressional leaders on the deal. our dan lothian is live at the white house with that part of the story. dan, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. well, you know, this came after intense pressure from the white house. you know, yesterday the white house inviting ordinary americans to come here to the complex, to talk about what that $40 per paycheck would mean to them if, in fact, they lost it. in was pressure from the american people, and as kate pointed out, pressure from with the republican party on those

house republicans to make sure that a deal was done after this deal did happen, president obama, again, as you pointed out, did congratulate members of congress for "ending the partisan stalemate." he went on to say that, this is the right thing to do to strengthen our families, grow our economy and create new jobs. this is real money that will make a real difference in people's lives. president obama also saying that over the last several weeks he and his administration had been working very hard to ensure that 160 million americans would not see their taxes go up, and, of course, all of this happening just at the right time as the president himself pointed out for the holidays. >> that's right. and in a statement, he took a little victory lap on twitter as well, dan? >> reporter: that's right. interesting, because they had been, the administration had been using twitter to reach out to americans, asks them to tell their stories about what they would do with that $40.

it would seem fitting for the president to return to twitter as he did last night in a tweet. today's victory is yours, keep making your voice heard. it makes all the difference. now the big question is, what does this all mean for president obama? his schedule is very fluid today and we're still waiting to find out if and when he will join his family in hawaii for the christmas holidays. >> but he was, however, able to squeeze that in in under 140 characters. >> that's right. >> merry christmas. live at the white house, thank you very much. coming up at the bottom of the hour, talking to stephen moore, the "wall street journal" editorial writer who wrote that op-ed that said republicans turned the payroll tax into a gift for president obama. the u.s. is offering $10 million for the capture of an alleged al qaeda operative. yasser al suri is accused of running money and new recruits from iran to pakistan and afghanistan. officials say he's a chief

fund-raiser for the group and a danger to the united states. his capture could shut down the financial resource for al qaeda. pakistan is dispoouting the results of the pentagon investigation into last month's air strike that killed 4 eed 2 their forces. the report says they reacted in self-defense telling cnn the u.s. fired first, say the pakistanis and it was air strikes that prompted this. and earthquakes hit new zealand. scary moments for people. it happened near christchurch, the second largest city. two 5.8 quakes hit the area today followed by several aftershock. rock falls caused problems for drivese drivers. at least two people hurt.

the airport closed down. this town is still on edge after the devastating earthquake rattled the area back in february. countless holiday travel plans are in jeopardy this morning after heavy snowfall in the rockies and soaking rains and powerful winds in the south. first to colorado where overnight a system dumped more than a foot of snow in and around denver. and new mexico a family of three is safe this morning after spending nearly two days trapped in their suv. they were buried in a snow drift. rescuers actually had to dig through four feet of ice and snow to get to the them. in georgia, several injured, thousands without power after a strong storm moved through overnight. and a ground stop at hartsfield-jackson airport. and we go to reynolds wolf. what's the forecast looking like and what about the travel delays? >> depends where you lap to be around the country. for some people a long delay for you.

es especially in parts of the northeast. all major metro airports are going to have backup. some places well over an hour. for all over new york including newark, get ready noofor that. boston, same situation in philadelphia. same story for d.c. metro airports and minneapolis, snow the big story. alina, moments ago talking about the heavy snowfall in the rockies. the numbers we're getting this morning, just ridiculous. just southwest of boulder, over three feet of snowfall. pine bluff same deal. crescentville, 29.0. over 27 in golden, colorado. and evergreen, colorado, 20 inches of snow for today. we'll see the snow begin to fizzle out for parts of at least the central rockies. it's going to continue for new mexico. plenty sunshine out to the west. southern california, the santa anas still strong. some wind gusts topping 90 miles per hour. again, look for a breezy day. look for flurries in parts of

the appalachians. the heavy snowfall, seeing at least east of the mississippi will be in parts of the northeast, new hampshire and back into vermont. could see around 6 inches of snowfall in the highest elevations. that's a wrap. back to you in new york. >> how's the weather in atlanta. i'm headed there later today. >> can i say a better situation for you? yesterday things were at a standstill. holly firfer will give you the whole deal coming ip. >> thank you. live to holly firfer add atlanta's hartsfield-jackson airport. service disrupted because of the winds and rain last night. holly, the big thing, once you get the delays, everything backs up. planes don't go in or out. everything stuck. taking until at least midday to clean up. no? >> reporter: you're absolutely right, deb. is going to be a nice day here today. so alina knows, when she comes in, mild and sunny. expected in the 50s. a good thing if you're trying to

get out today, stuck last night. hundreds of passengers got stuck overnight. deb, as you mentioned, 5,200 flights affected. a ground stop nearly three hour. planes didn't go in or out. people missed connections. we talked to two passenger whose woke up in the atlanta airport this morning. >> i'm supposed to be celebrating christmas. >> actually, my wife a driving over from tulsa to pick me up because the first two flights out this morning are both full, they said. >> reporter: and, you know, airport officials are hoping they can get things back on schedule today. they can get everybody who's been stuck here out at a reasonable time. flights are full today, and we've noticed in the past hour traffic is picking up here's at the atlanta airport. the security wait lines are pretty much moving forward. about 10, 20 minutes in places. but they're telling everybody, you know, come a little early. come about 90 minutes before your flight just in case. and as i mentioned, they're

going to be very full flights coming out of atlanta today. >> that's right. when it comes to traveling over the holidays, in for a penny, in for a pound. holly firfer, thanks so much. people have long waits ahead of them today. appreciate it. the tsa trying to make it easier. launching a toll-free hot line for travelers with special medical needs. it's called tsa cares and it's supposed to help fliers before they get to the airport. any questions about screening procedures will be answered and the tsa can coordinate checkpoints. the agency suggests calling 72 hours in advance. that number, 855-787-2227, and it's open from 9:00 to 9:00 eastern, monday through friday. still to come this morning, an egyptian woman wants justice for her country after she was brutally beaten by military forces. she tells cnn her story from her hospital bed. and it's the final resting place where thousands of our nation's military heroes, but army officials now finding

widespread problems at arlington national cemetery. we'll explain coming up. hard to believe christmas is almost here. 2011 coming to an end. we're going to tell you who in the world in politics made santa's naughty or nice list this year. stick around. it's 13 minutes after the hour. this is an rc robotic claw.

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welcome back to "american morning." it's 16 minutes after the hour. an egyptian woman beaten down by gang of military forces is now speaking out about the injustice that she says still reigns in her country. cameras captured the horrific attack. guards pounced on this woman. the woman in the red there as she tried to help another wounded woman from hospital bed. she told her story to cnn's mohammed jamjoom who join us live from cairo with this cnn exclusive. what did she say, mohammed? >> reporter: well, deb and alina, when we went to the hospital the first day when we

found her, she was in far too much agony to speak to us. many wondered, crossto her, wondered if she would survive. when we went back yesterday, she was doing better, thankfully. even though shep was struggling with a lot of pain she wanted to talk to us and one of the things she really wanted to get across was how worried she is about the uncertain future that her country faces. today she is feeling better. and despite the severe beating she sustained just days ago, she's eager to talk. >> translator: there's no justice. >> reporter: she says, i don't know how long we'll go without justice. we didn't ask for anything more than to be free in our own country. we've been oppressed by the military, by the supreme council of the armed forces and by the police. she has reason to be angry.

during a crackdown in cairo's tahrir square, the 48-year-old activist was rushed by riot police. seen here in a red jacket, she was trying to help a wounded woman when she was pushed to the ground. then began the mercifully barrage. she sustained multiple blows to the head. suffered two fractures to the skull. i don't know how much longer they'll continue to kill us, she says. how much longer will they continue to kill us? she isn't sure how long it will take for her to recover, but her condition today is visibly better than a day earlier. then she couldn't even talk to us, wailing in agony and crying for help. today she wondered what will happen to her homeland, and even though her late father was a general in egypt's army, she can't fathom the tactics security forces are currently

using against protesters. my family isn't like the men in the military now, she says. my family was very decent and pure. what's happening in the military now is dirty. humans without conscience or mercy. what right do they have to do this to people? despite the pain she endures and the uncertainty she feels, she remains defiant. i don't know what will happen tomorrow, she says, but i know we will not remain silent. we won't abandon or rights. we won't leave this country in the devastated condition its in. when asked about her case, one military official here said while he wasn't aware of specifics of this case, that if she did indeed come from a military background she would be entitled to be transferred to a military hospital. deb and alina? >> you no know, mohammed, i'm

curious. are people there starting to talk about the fact perhaps the arab spring was more like a military coo? a silent military coup? to see all of those police attacking this one woman, it's extremely symbolic. >> reporter: it is. and more and more videos like this have emerged from the past week. specifically video of the women brutalized at the hands of riot police here and has made many people question why protesters here at the beginning of this revolution were happy with the supreme council of the armed forces. originally they saw them as enabling the protesters to push hosni mubarak out of office. now they feel the supreme council of the supreme forces have taken over the country and a government not in place. they feel the military needs to step aside and step aside right

now. >> mohammed jamjoom in cairo. great work. thank you very much. and 20 after the hour. the army fearing problems with thousands of graves at arlington national cemetery. for a year now officials have been working to account for every grave at the more than 150-year-old cemetery nap may be impossible, because nearly 65,000 of those graves are now believed to have errors. congress ordered a report last year after the discovery of misidentified remains. the first nuclear plant to be built in the united states in three decades is one step closer to breaking ground. federal regulators approved the design for the new reactor. that design will now also be used for plants in georgia and south carolina. and still to come this morning, congress strikes a deal on the payroll tax. what's in the deal? what does it mean for you? we're going to take a closer look. let's go to vegas. alright, let's do it. let's do it, let's go to vegas. vegas baby! maybe we should head back to the dealership first?

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were back. "minding your business." u.s. stock futures trading higher now. the dow's third straight day of garns. the markets lifted by a better than expected reading on the labor market. italy approved a $40 billion plan to eliminate its budget deficit by 2013. the package which has grown increasingly unpopular will increase taxes, reinstate a property tax on homes and raise the retirement age. the italian government hopes the plan will stem laimulate the ec and stabilize the euro. and at home, mortgage rates a new low. the 30-year fixed rate loan, the most popular, down to 3.91%.

the lowest of survey's 40-year history. a black eye for best buy. the retailers cancels some holiday online orders just days before christmas. why? because the company says it has run out of merchandise because of the overwhelming demand on be best p buy.co bestbuy.com. and more retailers offer entire store discounts in the final two days before christmas. the cost of christmas hitting a new record. [ playing "12 days of christmas" ] >> if were you to purchase all the gifts from the "12 days of christmas" song, it would cost you $101,000. that's a record. and it's a 3.5% jump from last year. while the price for turtledoves and french hens were up, folks on minnesota wage likes lords of leeching and maids a milking

went another year without a raise. any excuse to play the song. "american morning" will be back after this. i'd race down that hill without a helmet.

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may not have politically been the smartest thing in the world. >> paying for the payroll tax fight, the house scheduled to vote today after taking the battle to the final week. republicans now worried that bad vibes are going to be lingering into 2012 on this "american morning." welcome back to "american morning." it's 30 minutes past the hour. top stories -- ishs the u.s. is offering $10 pll for the capture of an al qaeda operative. sassin al suri accused of transferring money and new recruits to the terror group.

his capture could shut down a big financial resource for al qaeda. suicide bombers strike two building in syria. car bombs exploded. witnesses heard heavy gunfire. syrian tv reporting a number of military and civilian casualties. reports say the attacks point to al qaeda. north korea will admit south korean delegations who wish to pay respects to its late leader kim jong-il. the north is promising safe travel. seoul has already sent a sympathy message but steds wiay will allow a limited group to send condolences to the country. new zealand rocked by earthquakes today. a 5.8 magnitude quake christchurch, second largest city there. and another quake. several aftershocks followed. falling rocks caused driving

problems. at least two people were hurt. you're waking up and traveling to grandmother's house today, you need to know this. a fresh blanket of snow complicate travel plans for some folks. up to a foot of snow fell in and around denver causing a bunch of flight delays and cancellations. meanwhile, in new england, some light snow could cause some minor delays today on the roads, and at the major airports. well, congress is now on track to keep the payroll tax cut in place. the house is expected to vote in two hours after speaker john boehner announced the gop is onboard. it's a two-month deal at least for the time being. typical worker will get about $83 a month more. joining us now, stephen moore, senior economics writer for the "wall street journal" editorial page. thanks for being here. one question i have to ask, this is an extension of a tax deal. this is not a tax cut. nor is it by any stretch of the imagination tax reform. so what are we really talking about here?

>> well, john boehner said it well had he said probably wasn't the smartest political fight. republicans folded their tents yesterday, stuck their tail between your legs and agreed to the president's two-month extension. an issue, in my opinion, where republicans were right on the policy but wrong on the politics. i mean, they were right that it makes no sense to do a two-month extension. if you're going to do it, makes sense to do it for a year, for planning purposes and so on, but the senate had already left, the republicans at the 11th hour tried to pick this fight with the president. it didn't work very well. so you know, the good news is, starting on january 1st, people will get this payroll tax cut extension, as you just said. this is an extension of a policy in place now for the past year. >> so really what we're saying is we're going to extend something two months and not take it away basically unless they extend it. why was there no unified policy. this could have been a good

moment for republicans. instead, looks like a triumph for president obama who now says, look, i'm the tax cut guy, when, in fact, he's proposed so many tax increases. so really, i think in the "wall street journal" editorial it said it was like the republicans made a circular firing squad, actually? >> yes. a reason there's a stupid party in washington and that's why republicans are the stupid party. in this instance it's shown. a week ago the republicans had sort of, had one on this issue. remember, we were talking about a week ago, whether the president would be forced to make a decision on the keystone pipeline, republicans prevailed on that. that's an issue where, you know, something like -- where republicans are the 99 out of 100 americans, and the president is with the 1% of radical environmentalists who don't want the pipeline built. a victory for republicans. and prevailed on the surtax.

you recall when the president came out with it, wanted a big tax increase on business owners and republicans were able to reneal. they should have declared victory, gone home and unwrapped presents. instead, egg on their face. the question, whether there will be any lasting political fallout to this. >> for the average american, it seems as if washington is now this big political pinball machine with multiple balls that are simply bouncing off the walls. they're dinging and dinging and dinging. and nobody really knows what in the send is going to happen. hoop for taxing? who's for spending? >> right. >> who is who now? i mean, where does this leave us? this is very confusing. we're going off for a week. what do we have? >> a great point. look, if republicans will win the election in november of 2012 it's going to be one of most important elections in our lifetime, they're going have to define for the american public they are the party of lower taxes. the democrats are the party of bigger spending.

this debate certainly clouded that issue. but what's interesting is, deb, now the next fight, you're right, this has been a political bin r pinball machine over the last year or so. that's not going to stop starting january 1st. in fact, what's going to happen now in the next, starting january 1st over the next couple of months, the big issue, thousand pay for the payroll tax cut extension. democrats again are coming forward with their idea of a big tax increase on the rich. republicans are going to say, no, they want to cut spending. we're just at the start of this political football. not the end of it. >> and just to wrap, because there were a couple of digs on the democrats when, in fact, i don't think both sides come out looking particularly well in this. if nothing else, president obama stepped up to credit for what was going on in washington. he looks like he's the one who's taken the victory lap. not the republicans in this. right? >> that's why this has been a big political blunder for republicans. you're right. president obama basically established his position. he didn't back down and the

republicans did. that's why as a republican, i find it tragic, because a week ago they looked like they were in pretty good shape. you know, you're right. the whole debate over the next year now, deb, up until november 5th of next year is going to be this whole issue of taxation, how do we bring this deficit down? and those issues really have to be defined if republican, going to win and evict this guy from the white house, which, of course, is the republicans' number one aim now. >> right. and right now it's got to be about tax reform and both parties have a lot of work to do. stephen moore, thanks for joining us. >> my greatest christmas present. to reform this obsolete antiquated tax system. >> if not this year, maybe 20 12. hoop know who knows. >> tax reform. >> and parachutes. >> which would actually work. >> pair of shoes. on "american morning" for a friday, donald trump not here? what about michael 1k3w4r50r time for our annual naughty and

nice list and it includes a few presidential candidates this year. we'll have that for you next. it's 38 minutes after the hour. [ woman ] my boyfriend and i were going on vacation, so i used my citi thank you card to pick up some accessories. a new belt. some nylons. and what girl wouldn't need new shoes? we talked about getting a diamond. but with all the thank you points i've been earning... ♪ ...i flew us to the rock i really had in mind. ♪ [ male announcer ] the citi thank you card. earn points you can use for travel on any airline, with no blackout dates.

♪ you better watch out you better not cry ♪ you better not pout i'm telling you why ♪ >> good morning, and merry christmas, washington, d.c. president obama, sasha, malia, the first lady, with mostly cloudy and 50 degree, although they're headed to hawaii. right? high of 52 today. welcome back. 2011. it's been a packed year full of political scandals and congressmen who just can't seem it agree on anything. but there were a lot of inspiring newsmakers, too. so in the spirit of the holidays we doesed our two favorite people to play santa claus and come up with this year's naughty and nice list. we're joined by robert zimmerman, head of a public relations firm and john avlon, cnn contributor and political columnist. a mouthful, but great to see you both. merry christmas. love the ties. >> good to be with you. before we get to naughty and

nice, we agree on what's hot. big stars, congratulations, the buzz on that amazing. >> thank you very much. >> tony bennett, president clinton, today jennifer lopez. will ferrell. looking forward to that. robert, start with you. your nice list. governor andrew cuomo and erskine bowles and alan simpson on the deficit commission. not household name, why? >> dustin lance black, who, oscar winning screenwriter, a new play out focusing on the fight, the legal battles for marriage equality in california. awe smt, great, great play. the social conscience of our country. bowles-simpson is important. not household names, these two, clinton's former chief of staff, simpson, republican conservative senator, put together a game plan to bring back our economy. both parties encouraged to listen to them.

>> something president clinton, of course, supports wholeheartedly. john, you agree on cuomo. and three in governor chris christie. listen, he always gets a lot of attention. you surprisingly have members of congress. six of them. the gang of six. and one presidential candidate, jon huntsman, who some people feel has not seen his time in the spotlight yet. let's talk about christie. >> christie and cuomo, the two best governors in america across from the hudson river together. at time when people are frustrated about what seems to be a failure in governance out of washington, these two guys have shown that you can govern difficult states effectively, close multibillion dollar budget gaps without raising taxes. in the case andrew cuomo, achieve marital quality. and christie, educational

qualities. and six bipartisan senators had the courage to come up with a bipartisan deficit and debt plan. let's hope to there's more in the new year. probably huntsman because he's tried to run a simple campaign in an unsimp time. a little christmas cheer as it were. >> listen, he could maybe surprise people in new hampshire. right? you never know. >> that's the christmas spirit. >> you never know. okay. staying positive for jon huntsman, in the single digits. you never know maybe he'll pull it off. the naughty list. the fun part. robert, a great list hiere including donald trump, eric cantor. i'll let you have at it. >> first of all, it's donald trump. a real big star. a big player when taking on star jones or meatloaf or gary bus any a reality show. put him on the stage with serious people, saw what happened to him. laughed out of contention by the white house over the birther issue. at the end of the day, we need serious discussions about issues

not cheap democrat gaagogues. and michael moore, he can't find away to sell dvds. once again, the occupy wall street movement, michael moore. no real focus except self-promotion. eric cantor. how he gets away with it. amazing. one of the reasons for that, eric cantor as his number two is undercutting america every step waste with the tea party caucus and trying to diminish boehner's role. >> an interesting side of the story we don't hear at often. john, i want to get to your naughty list. including michele bachmann and the, oh, not so super committee. >> and the oh, not so super committee. certainly frustration in congress. lines the whole group in the naughty list. the super committee was such a super fail we cannot let them go unnoticed on the naughty list. they had the opportunity and jim hensarling and they failed to

deliver. j jon corzine. misplaced $1.2 billion. it happens, and the greatest story about michael daly in "newsweek," warning about the dangers of debt and overleveraging, got out of office and committed the same sin help was criticizing. >> before were you let you go. former flavor of the month, herman cain. watch this first. >> yes. >> let me leave you with this -- i believe these words came from the pokemon movie. life can be a challenge. life can seem impossible. it's never easy when there's so much on the line, but you and i

can make a difference. >> you know, it's really hard to top that. i have to say. >> both naughty and nice. you know, the naughty side of herman cain clearly, knowing all the allegations. when you look back at 2011, there is surreal quality. did we really spend six weeks on a former ceo's sex life? we did, america, and closing out his campaign with "pokemon" too good. >> sums it up. >> really that just happens. >> kind of a made-for-tv movie? >> that's the problem. the whole reality-style of this election. >> too many tv programs, reality tv presume programs. >> thank you both. obviously a discussion about the ties. very festive. good morning. thanks for being here. merry christmas. see you next week, i hope. deb? the pokemon. holiday travel trouble? a check of the airports on one

of the busiest travel days of the year. also ahead, selling christmas trees? well, not exactly a cake walk. coming up we'll hear from a man who's been doing it for more than 20 years. why selling christmas trees is a risky business. it is almost 40 minutes after the hour. woman: my father came to america selling fishcakes from the back of his truck, and in 1942, of course, they were sent away. after the war, as a japanese coming back from camp,

he started a little store on main street in seattle. of course they needed some money, and bank of america was the only bank who would talk to my father. and we've stayed with bank of america. we have four stores now, three in the pacific northwest and one in oregon. my parents would not believe how popular it is now.

hour. markets up yesterday after positive news about the jobs ma and congress now on track to keep the payroll tax cut in place. the house expected to vote in less than two hours after house speaker john boehner announced the gop is onboard. it is a two-month deal, at least for now. it keeps $40 in your paycheck. so, spend it, save it, use it while you can. pakistan is disputing the results of the pentagon's investigation into last month's air strike that killed 24 of their soldiers. the defense department's report found u.s. forces acted in self-defense after being fired upon. the pakistany intelligence officials tell cnn the u.s. fired first. well, best buy canceling some online orders, including those made back on black friday. that's right. the electronics retailer says it was simply overwhelmed by the

number of online sales and it's run out of merchandise. and light snow falling in parts of new england could cause minor travel delays this morning. travelers dealing with headaches down in atlanta after a powerful storm caused a nearly three-hour groundstop at jackson international airport affecting 5,200 planes. that's the news you need to know to start your day. "american morning" right back.

good morning, new york city.

what a gorgeous shot there where it is cloudy and 46 degrees. showers and 48 a little bit later on and one of my favorite christmas songs. merry christmas, everybody. well, christmas tree just don't bring holiday cheer, but provide part-time jobs for a lot of people. but selling christmas trees isn't easy, it's a very risky business that could tell us something about the state of the economy. felicia taylor reports. >> reporter: you see them all over new york city. stands pop up just for the month of december. selling christmas trees and it's not just about holiday cheer. they provide part-time employment and family fun. >> i'm a single mom and not working at the time, but i saved up all my money just to come here, which is really quite amazing because i don't want to go anywhere else. >> reporter: scott has been selling trees for more than 20 years. he has about seven stands around new york and for him it's a labor of love, even if it means losing money.

>> it could be profitable. what most people don't realize is that it's one of the most risky rolls of the dice there is. if you don't have your act totally together, you can lose a fortune. the overhead has escalated enormously over the years. everyone needs to earn a little bit more money. rents have sky rocketed 400%, 500% in our case. a truck load that used to cost us $5,000 costs us over $9,000 today. that reflects the prices of the trees today. sometimes consumers will only pay so much. >> reporter: this business is 24/7. they live out of a winnebago for the month with up to ten men sleeping in rotating shifts. >> this is what we call home for about 40 days and we do the best we can with the help of our neighbors who provide us with plumbing and shower at local places like at the theater up the block. >> reporter: it's not just about selling christmas trees.

all kinds of other things like ornaments, decorations, wreaths, bells even santa hats and some say that can even be a greater indicator of how the economy is doing. >> you know in '08 when everything went down the tubes, we couldn't sell any ornaments and now all of a sudden they're starting to sell like crazy and that usually translates into a good economy. from what i've seen in my 35 years of christmas tree experience, it never fails. >> reporter: an improving economy would provide some extra holiday cheer, but this neighborhood seems to be getting the benefit anyway. >> makes them happy that we come back every season. you know, you see the smiles and some people look forward to. i'm happy to be here for that. >> reporter: felicia taylor, cnn, new york. and before we forget, we wanted to wish all of you out there a very happy festivus. festivus is celebrated every december 23rd and handed down by its creator george's dad in seinfeld. we hope you put up your festivus

pole. if you don't know the story of festivus, why don't we just let frank explain it. >> many christmases ago i went to buy a doll for my son. i reach for the last one they had, but so did another man. as irene blows upon him, i realized there had to be another way. >> what happened to the doll? >> it was destroyed. but out of that, a new holiday was born. a festivus for the rest of us. >> you know, it's just genius. >> how many television shows actually create their own holidays. something that is legitimately celebrated now. of course, you have kids' festivuses every day that is actually not a holiday. top stories next. plus morgan spurlock stops by our studio. he has a new project and this time it's about failure or dreamling. it all depends. he'll explain. j.lo giving back in a big way.

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we've got a deal. i'm alina cho. the house voting in 90 minutes to keep the payroll tax cut in place past the new year. holiday travel trouble. i'm debb feyerick. snow in the east and west and heavy wind and rain causing flights to be delayed. more on what to expect as you hit the road on this "american morning." i don't know where i'm going. it's christmas, it's new year's, everybody is going away. good morning, everybody. 8:00 in the east coast and 5:00 in the west, friday, december 23rd, two days before christmas. i'm alina xrrx ho alongside deb feyerick. an early christmas present for 160 million working

americans. extending the payroll tax cut that has divided washington for weeks. >> a lot of arm twisting by president obama who said it was the disgust of the american people that broke the log jam. speaker john boehner saying his side still wanted a one-year extension, but in the end, saw the political reality. >> we have fought the fight, a good fight. but, you know, i talked to enough members over the last 24 hours who believe that, hey, listen. we don't like to set two-month extension and we don't like this reporting problem in the senate bill and if you can get this fixed, why not, why not do the right thing for the american people, even though it's not exactly what we want. >> so, how long will the tax payroll -- candy crowley, first of all, your thoughts. it seems that everybody is excited that they've done something that only lasts for two deals, for two months.

it seems so -- >> i'm thinking maybe we should use the word relieved. i don't know how excited any of them are. no, listen, there's such a frustration on both sides on capitol hill because, honestly, we have the same argument over and over again. the arena changes. you know, the debt ceiling or it's an ominous budget bill and in this case it was about these payroll tax cuts. but the argument is always the same which is, how are you going to pay for this? so, you know, there is a frustration on capitol hill on both sides that they spin their wheels quite a bit on the same arguments. >> candy, i want to talk about political fallout because you see john boehner the house speaker saying the two-month extension kicking the can down the road and, wait a minute, maybe politically that's not the smart thing to do. we'll agree to this two-month extension. the "wall street journal" said

republicans basically handed them the re-election. what are the smart minds saying about this? >> any number of things. but, first, let's remember it is december and the election is not until next november. what is damaging about this, i think, is not that people in november are going to go, remember, remember last year when they almost didn't give us this payroll tax cut because so much is going to happen between now and then, but what happened is that the democrats were able to strengthen their storyline. you know, you have to get it into the ground water, if you will, out there in the public saying, you know what, those republicans protect millionaires but they don't care about you. and this perfectly fit into that storyline because they went out every day, whether it was the white house or a democrat on capitol hill and said, wait a minute. they've been protecting millionaires all year long from a tax increase and now they're going to give you a tax increase. so, it is damaging in the sense that it adds to that, but not in

the particulars of it, if that makes sense. >> also, candy, one thing when you look at the overall issue here, we're looking at extending a tax cut that is already in place from now 4.2% and going to go up to 6.2% if they don't work something out. but if this is what happens when we're looking at tax, extending something that exists already, what is going to happen if the topic of real tax reform comes up? nothing is -- it's not going to be a stalemate, it's going to be an intellectual shut down. >> it is. it's going to be messy and it may well get ugly. but, in fact, that's what you're going to see republicans pushing for all next year. take this argument, again, we've been having it all year long. where are we going to save money. where are we going to either cut spending or raise taxes? you've got the bush tax cuts that are going to expire this next year. so, there's going to be a lot of talk about that because, as you know, the democrats want to end

that tax cut for the upper bracket. so, that will be an argument. but everything that comes up is about money on capitol hill. that's what they do. they disperse money. so all next year -- >> i was going to say, first, they were talking about basically talking about freezing the salaries and then take the money and go after people with mortgages with fannie mae and freddie mac. it's all up in the air. like being a juggler in a big circus. >> the thing is, these little things don't really get us there. everybody knows they have to be big things like reform of entitlements and the tax cut. >> that's exactly what i wanted to get to because, i mean, we hear all the time about the do nothing congress, the do nothing congress and, yes, this is a two-month extension. you covered politics a long time. i mean, doesn't it, at a certain point, just boggle the mind? they hear it all the time up there and, yet, there's still this log jam all the time.

>> there is. but let me just back up one second and say, there are huge philosophical differences between republicans and democrats. so, we tend to look at it through the political prism because we're on the eve of an election year, but also deep policy divisions on the size of the government. that's what it all boils down to. what do you want your government to do? >> candy, why are you getting all practical on us? >> i'm sorry. >> these people just want the government to work. i think they just want them to play nicely, okay. if you have 5 year olds who can play nicely, i'm pretty sure you can hammer out a deal. >> what 5 year olds do you know that play nicely? >> well, grownups make them play nicely. candy crowley, now just a few days from 2012, you can't miss "state of the union" every sunday with candy crowley starting at 9:00 a.m. eastern. for the millions of you traveling this krsmous holiday, a number of storms could put

your trip in jeopardy. first a snow storm in colorado where a storm is blanketing most of the state. in and around denver getting up to a foot or more of snow and forcing airlines to cancel dozens of flights. to the south of colorado in new mexico a family of three safe this morning after spending nearly two daze, that's right, two days trapped in their suv. they were buried in a snow drift. rescuers had to dig through four feet of ice and snow to get them out. we want to take a live look at new york city right now where there are just a few lingering showers out there this morning. it was raining when i came in at about 4:00 this morning. just north of us, light snow in new england could cause delays on the roads and at the major airports. in georgia, homes damaged and trees down and power is out to thousands after a severe line of storms swept through the state last night. at least seven people were injured in northern georgia. there's also a nearly three-hour

ground stop at atlanta's hartfield jackson international airport. it affected 5,200 planes. you're now looking at a live shot of atlanta and at least the weather is clearing up somewhat. hopefully the lines and delays will, too. let's go live now to holly firfer. holly, earlier this morning we were talking about how the coffee lines were longer than the security lines because so many people had to spend the night at the airport. what is it looking like now? >> well, alina, what a difference a day makes. it is running smoothly now. you know, hundreds of people were stuck at the airport. they slept in the lobby. they slept anywhere they could find a chair. and now the skies are clearing. it's supposed to be a nice day. the traffic here at the airport is definitely picking up. the lines are still manageable, but there's a lot of people who are still inside who never left from yesterday. we ed to a couple of those passengers earlier. >> i am supposed to be celebrating christmas with my

family in a couple hours. >> my wife is driving over from tulsa to pick me up because the first two flights out this morn rg both full they said. >> and i got to tell you, though, alina, people here still in good spirits maybe because it's the holiday and they're going on vacation. when i was walking through the airport this morning there was a guy with a big tub of popcorn and he was sharing it with all his neighbors there who had spent the night and he said, well, i was bringing it to my family for the holidays, but since we're here, we might as well have breakfast. i'll just go shopping when i get there. >> people are so elegant. >> take what you can get there. >> like the new egg. >> exactly. reynolds wolf in the extreme weather center and, reynolds, boy, nobody expected this. obviously, nobody ever does. but you have to kind of be practical. >> oh, very much so, no question about it. with the rough weather we had in parts of the southeast, thankfully it has pushed on but always does seem and during the holidays you have people trying

to get from point a to point b around the country and very seldom does the weather cooperate unless you're bad in colorado, it was bad for drivers. some numbers good for ski resorts. they were desperate for the snow. it came not in inches but in feet. in southwest boulder three feet and in pinecliff three feet and crescent village and even golden, colorado, 27.5 inches of snowfall and then over 20 inches of snowfall in colorado and everygreen. you know, obviously, terrible for a lot of the people that are just trying to drive from one part of the freeway to the other, but for the ski country, it is just phenomenal. we have been seeing a lot of the focus of the heavy snow now pushing to the south into parts of new mexico and back into arizona. we have the winter storm warnings in effect and the winds strong, too. anyone making that drive along parts of 25 or even 40 and the high mountain passes, not only the snow to deal with, but the winds will help pick it up and limit visibility and very difficult times.

please, be careful out there. very close to a foot of snowfall at higher levels around 7,500 feet. now, something else we're seeing around the nation, a glut of cool temperatures moving through the southern rockies. 37 degrees for denver your high. el paso at 40 and 61 in san francisco and 46 in portland and upper 40s back in new york. new york is also where you're going to find a line of delays. newark, yes, you're included in that. for boston, philadelphia, d.c. metros and wind and rain will be problems. in minneapolis, yes, the frozen precipitation that may give you some delays. but for now foresee delays only under an hour. it looks like it might be slight. the cold air that will make its way down to the gulf coast. very mild in parts of georgia and alabama. all that changes today. it will be dropping down a bit more. scattered flurries for much of the great lakes and a mix of sun and clouds for parts of the upper plains but back in the pacific northwest, shocker y know.

chance of scattered showers. rain in seattle and the highest elevations you might deal with a touch of snowfall. plenty of sunshine for california and, again, the snowfall. could it be a white christmas for vermont and new hampshire, it may hang on a bit more places like toronto where ali velshi is. not so much for christmas day. >> reynolds wolf, thank you very much. you know, every year the folks over at the website jib-jab put together their year in review video and this year they did not disappoint. they have it all covered. take a look. ♪ 2011 was hairy a year unlike any we've seen ♪ ♪ and a war like -- winning ♪ the job market stayed in a slump ♪ ♪ the debt ceiling kept us debating ♪

♪ class war class war ♪ ♪ i nearly got hit with a pie health threats greek debts ♪ ♪ there were occupy wall street protesters ♪ ♪ and folks who will surely be missed ♪ ♪ and it's just way too much stuff to list ♪ >> nobody was spared. >> nobody was spared. they got the economy, they got in the obits and a couple celebrities. >> occupy wall street. >> in 53 seblgdz. >> that's the news. ahead on "american morning," many republicans are still lukewarm about mitt romney. well, what if chris christie was his vice president? what the new jersey governor says about being number two. that's next. and are you in a rut? filmmaker morgan spurlock is here to help. helping people live their dreams even though life may be taking them some place else.

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walmart. for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america

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a little hawaiian music there coming out of washington because although president obama is in town, his wife and family are already starting their vacation in hawaii. mostly cloudy, about 50 degrees later. it will go up to a high of 52. good day to walk around there. welcome back to "american morning" on a friday. it's 17 minutes after the hour. it's the number one issue in the race for the white house. we're talking, of course, about the economy. and according to a new cnn/orc poll, take a look, 57% of americans say the economy is the most important issue facing this country. and when asked what's the most

important economic problem, 51% say unemployment and 27% say it's the deficit. mitt romney picking up another endorsement. this one could be a biggy. it's from a former president, george bush 41. >> and in a new interview, we also found out that president george h. w. bush is really not a fan of newt gingrich. cnn's political editor paul steinhauser joins us with more on that. paul, good morning. i'm afraid to ask. >> you know, i guess this is another sign of establishment republicans coming out and backing mitt romney. no doubt about this. here we're talking about former president george herbert walker bush. this is the daddy. and in "the houston chronicle" he called the former massachusetts governor the best choice of the 2012 presidential nomination. he went on to say i think he's mature and reasonable and not a bomb thrower. romney himself said he had no

idea the endorsement was coming. what did bush have to say about gingrich? not a lot of good things. he said, i'm not his biggest advocate. >> and, paul, you know, looking at those pictures there we also think that another person who endorsed mitt romney, governor chris christie, but now his name is back in the rumor mill, not for president, but for a different position potentially. >> yeah, deb, i tell you, listen, i lost my ear piece here, i'm sorry, it fell out and i'll be putting it right back in as you show this video of christie and romney together. a lot of republicans wanted christie to run himself. now i can hear you, again, sorry about that. he didn't run for president and he did back mitt romney and now will he take a vp slot? let's say romney wins the nomination christie said, yeah, we'll think about it. the wife and i will think about it, but he went on to say, deb,

listen, i think next year at this time it will be president-elect mitt romney and somebody as vice president elect and i'll still be governor of new jersey. but, look, whoever wins the gop nomination, i think picking chris christie would not hurt at all. a lot of republicans nationwide like him. >> people know by now with less than two weeks to go before the iowa caucuses, newt gingrich has been slipping in the polls of late. he is lowering expectations, isn't he, paul? >> it seems s he is. so much has changed. two weeks ago gingrich's numbers were going up and starting to fade a little bit. in iowa, just 11 days away from that caucus and nationwide. take a listen to what he said on the campaign trail yesterday. >> we're coming together very fast in iowa and i expect we'll be very, very competitive. my goal is to be in the top three or four. the sheer weight of money to be in the top three or four. i'd love to win and be in the top three or four and probably

be the top two in new hampshire and then to win south carolina and florida and from that point on, i think it becomes a pretty easy race. >> was he trying to lower expectations and then beat them which is always a good thing in politics? as you saw there at the end, he wasn't that modest because he thinks he can finish in the top two in new hampshire and go on and take south carolina. this race has been wild and it is going to be another interesting battle right down to the end. >> lower expectations and potato, potato. paul steinhauser, thanks so much. the candidates first true test tuesday january 3rd. special live coverage right here. best political team on tv starts 7:00 p.m. eastern time. check of the early financial markets is next. plus, watch out for the grinch. with christmas just a few days away, the world's largest electronic store is actually telling customers now that some of their online orders won't arrive in time. what went wrong? you won't believe the answer.

it's 22 minutes after the hour. ♪

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25 minutes after the hour. watching your money this morning. a black eye for best buy. the retailer is apparently canceling some holiday online orders just days before christmas. the company said it ran out of merchandise because of overwhelming demand on bestbuy.com. if you're still shopping for last-minute holiday gifts, there are aggressive last-minute deals out there. entire store discounts in these final two days before christmas. this morning we'll get a fresh new read on the economy. we'll get new reports on personal income and personal spending for november, as well as last month's new home sales. ahead of those reports, u.s. stock futures are trading higher. the dow has rallied for the past three days. and the salvation army

striking gold, literally. the group saying so far this season they've collected 40 gold coins in their red kettles. someone also left 14 swiss gold franks. those coins together are worth nearly $3,000. still ahead, we're live from the white house as the payroll tax deadlock ends and new developments overnight in syria as twin suicide bombs shake the capital city of damascus. "american morning" is back after this.

may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world. well, the house scheduled to vote today on keeping the payroll tax cut right where it is. but the gop is still a party pretty divided. is the white house declaring victory? all that on this "american morning."

welcome back. it's 29 minutes after the hour. your top stories now. the u.s. is offering $10 million for the capture of an alleged al qaeda operative. al suri accused of running new recruits from afghanistan and pakistan. he is a chief fund-raiser for the terror group and a danger to the u.s. his capture could shut down a big financial resource for al qaeda. and suicide bombers strike two government buildings in syria. this morning, car bombs exmropld outside security offices in damascus. they heard heavy gunfire and syrian tv reporting a number of civilian calcties. these attacks point to al qaeda. new zealand rocked by twin earthquakes today. a 5.8 magnitude quake struck christchurch and then less than 90 minutes later another 5.8 magnitude quake hit. several aftershocks followed. falling rocks caused some

problems for drivers and at least two people were injured. a fresh blanket of snow complicating travel plans for some folks this morning as they head home for the holidays. almost a foot of snow fell in denver and in new england light snow could cause minor delays today on the roads and, of course, that major airports. back to our top story. a pause in the gridlock in washington. the house is expected to vote in one hour on extending the payroll tax cut that has divided washington for weeks. what's in it for you? the legislation will keep the payroll tax rate at 4.2% that otherwise would have expired on december 31 and shot up to 6.2%. keep in mind, this expires at the end of two months unless congress takes additional action. it comes out to about $83 per month for the average family. that works out to about $1,000 over the course of the year, but, again, this is only a two-month extension.

and president obama immediately congratulated congressional leaders on the deal. cnn's dan lothian live at the white house. dan, interesting because the president who's been urging tax increases now comes out looking as if he's instrumental on tax cuts. >> that's right. and all of this coming because there was so much pressure on house republicans. first of all, pressure from the public when some of these lawmakers were back at home where they were hearing over the phone from their constituents who wanted them to get something done. president obama put the pressure using the public through twitter and their blogs to weigh in on what that $40 each pay check would mean to them. he was surrounded by those folks yesterday here at the white house. so, republicans bend to pressure from the public, but also pressure from within their own party. as you pointed out, president obama upon this deal being reached did talk about how his administration had been working

very hard to make sure that 160 million americans did not see their taxes go up. he congratulated congress and also thanked them for "ending the partisan stalemate." he went on to say that this is the right thing to do to strengthen our families, grow our economy and create new jobs. this is real money that will make a real difference in people's lives. and, of course, he pointed out that this comes at a very good time, good news during the holiday season. it does remove some of the uncertainty, at least temporarily, and the administration believes is good for the economy. >> dan, speaking of the holiday season. when does the president leave for hawaii? >> well, you know, we have to assume now that this deal has been reached that the president will, in fact, be going. but, still, his schedule is very open today. in fact, typically the night before they put out a schedule that will give you the exact time that the president is meeting with his senior advisors. the senior national security advisors and others. but the schedule simply said tbd

and, so, we are waiting to find out what the president will be doing over the next several hours, but we do expect that he will be going to hawaii at some point. >> all right. thank you so much. dan lothian. and eighthians and christian groups battling across the country over the display of nativity scenes in public places. thousands of supporters in the nativity scene at the county courthouse in athens, texas, gathered defending religious displays there. from texas to california to ohio threatening to sue over separation of church and state. >> this is my personal favorite story of the day. an unemployed woman in georgia is using her christmas display to find a job. take a look at this. her lights actually say my wish. hr job liz. it looks like her festive plea just might be working. >> i've had people stop when i'm

out and telling me about positions that they know of their company or some other company. i've had a lot of linkedin messages and a lot of linkedin views. >> that is so great. she's probably going to get a job pretty soon. she says she is getting e-mails from as far away as italy. >> see, it's not how many lights you put up, but how you put them up. another story that caught our eye this morning. there really is a wrong side of the bed. getting up at 3:00 doesn't help, however, a new study says sleeping on the left side of the bed makes you more cheerful and positive than that grump next to you on the right. this is when you start, this is really when you start sleeping face up. lefty sleepers are more equipped to handle the stressful day ahead. the study of 3,000 adults was commissioned by the largest hotel chain in the uk. >> i'm still trying to figure out when it's left side facing the headboard --

>> if your head is at the pillow, i would be on the left. i'm cheerful. up next, filmmaker morgan spurlock is here in our studios. the "supersize me" star could jump start your own new year's resolution. we'll have him on next.

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good morning, atlanta, georgia. have you finished your shopping yet? >> i haven't. >> cloudy 48 degrees. partly cloudy and 60 later on in the morning or little later on in the day, actually. welcome back, everybody. what you can't see is our whole crew doing the hula there to that great music. it is never too late to follow your dreams and no one knows that better than our next guest. before making his hit documentary "supersize me" he was evicted from his apartment. i don't know why i'm smiling. >> because it's hilarious. >> in the end, it is very funny and $250,000 in debt.

but, now he has found success and he says, you can, too. he is trying to prove it in his band new web series. >> it's called "the failure club." >> if i don't do this now, i'll never do it. >> i'm nervous every night i go to sleep. >> the fear i face is very real the fear of failure. >> this could be very humiliating potentially. >> joining us is filmmaker morgan spurlock. i think what's interesting about this project is the title, quite frankly. you're talking about people pursuing their dreams and yet it's called the failure project, why? >> the thing that keeps us held back is the fear of failure. so, what we want people to do is get rid of the stigma. failure is not a bad thing, it's a good thing. an incredible guy i met who about six years ago he and his group of friend started a

failure club. they were pretty successful and they started talking about the things they would do if they had the chance. so he said, let's do that. this year, let's support one another. he created this little support group where they help each other chase after their dreams. that's such a great idea. we have to share this with the world. >> what's incredible about that is people say you learn more by failing than you do succeeding. people think in this world of instant gratification and immediate success, you have to get it or you're done. i think what this proves. you don't even know the outcome of the lives of these people. so, this is reality television at its best, it's unscripted, it's evolving because you're shooting it and tell us about the people because they really are doing things that they, that will make them happy. >> we found this incredible group of new yorkers who some of them want to start their own businesses and one girl wants to write the most epic christmas song she could ever write. every year during the holidays people will hear her song. 55-year-old woman who road

horses as a child and wants to competitively jump horses. one of my favorite stories is a guy whose father passed away earlier this year and he was a motorcycle fanatic and he wants to build a motorcycle and go with his friends to the grand teton. >> the one question i had when i heard about this project is, you know, with the economy being what it is, i mean, just through your own research, or meeting these people. have you found that more people are inclined to say, you know what, i'm just going to go for it. go for the gusto or i'm just going to stick around and do what i'm doing. >> it's boetth. i think there are people that are still afraid. one obstacle we put around us is i can't do that, i don't have the money. you know, once you start to say, you know, i'll find a way to make it happen. you'll find a way to make it happen. one of the woman in our club is someone laid off from her job, which is happening across the

country. got a severance when she was fired and she said, if i don't start my own business now, i'll never do it. she's taking that money and launching her own business as part of the failure club. >> like what steve jobs said. you always have to realize that you don't know how long you're going to live. for maybe many of these people they're saying, look, if i don't do it now, i'm never going to do it. life ultimately is very short. so, you might as well find something that you love to do. that you feel passion lt about that you can connect with. >> that's what we tell people all the time. when you wake up in the morning, you want to wake up and ecstatic and these people are at this point. they all reached that precipice where they're like, i have to go for. the only thing i can hope for next year is that people don't make new year's resolutions they make new year's revolutions. >> it's interesting, i think about this all the time because i happen to love what i do, but there are a lot of people who really do look at their jobs

like jobs, which is really unfortunate. but having said that, i know it's early on in the project. you're only four weeks into it, but are you finding that people are, that that power of positive thinking, is it working? >> well, the amazing thing about it, their strength in numbers. when you are doing it by yourself is very hard and the beautiful thing of failure club is that once you have other people there, now you have people who are kind of answering to you and people who are calling you to task and are also there to support you. a lot of times we don't have the support we need to go after the things we want. whether that's from family and friends and here are six other people who say, we believe in you and they are there to help you. >> often to give advice than to take your own advice. sometime physical i stopped and took the advice that i think is great advice that i'm giving other people, it might have a different perspective. do you find these folks, are they, are they excited by this? i know we heard they're a little bit frightened by it, but they've also got to basically, like jumping off a cliff. you don't know when you're going to hit bottom, in a good way.

>> no, people are scared to death. when you watch the episodes on yah yahoo screen, they are terrified. it's a terrifying thing to say i'm going to do it. once you take that first step, you go, why did it take me so long? >> you mentioned yahoo! you call this your own failure project. >> this show is my failure club. when i met philip six, seven years ago, we said, we have to get this on television people have to see this and no network would touch this show. the production process is a year. we're shooting people for 52 weeks and people were afraid of that long, long arduous production schedule. we don't know what we're going to get and it's going to be very difficult. >> have you had some interest? >> people started calling immediately when the show hit the air and i think yahoo! was a great place for the show. >> not ultimately will they fail, will they succeed, a little bit of both, at least

they're taking the risk to do it. morgan spurlock, thank you so much. we're so excited to see what these people do and what they learn and how they grow. we wish them, instead of failure, the dreamer's club for folks who, you know -- >> as you said, the best things come out of little failure. a little goes a long way. >> morgan spurlock producer of yahoo and we're looking forward to the series. >> happy holidays, as well. also ahead, the one and only jennifer lopez. i sat down with her last week in los angeles. we'll bring that interview to you next. it's 46 minutes after the hour. [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus presents: the cold truth. i habe a cohd. and i toog nyguil bud i'm stild stubbed up. [ male announcer ] sorry, buddy. truth is, nyquil doesn't un-stuff your nose. what? [ male announcer ] it doesn't have a decongestant. really? [ male announcer ] you need a more complete cold formula, like alka-seltzer plus liquid gels. it's specially formulated to fight your worst cold symptoms, plus relieve your stuffy nose. [ deep breath ] thank you!

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well, it's 50 after the hour or 8:50. u.s. stock futures trading higher now after some mixed news on the economy. durable goods orders were up last month. personal income and spending

were both down slightly. well, the house expected to vote in less than one hour on extending the payroll tax cut for two months. this after house speaker john boehner announced that the gop is onboard. it's a two-month deal for now that keeps $40 a week in your paycheck. so, save it, spend it, but do it for the next two months. suicide bombers strike two government buildings in syria. syria tv reporting a number of civilian and casualties. the attacks bear the hallmark of al qaeda. pakistan is disputing the results of the pentagon's investigation into last month's air strike that killed 24 pakistani soldiers. the defense department's report found u.s. forces did act in self-defense after being fired upon. the pakistani intelligence officials tell cnn the u.s. fired first. and a russian soyuz rocket will dock at the international space station later this morning. this after two days of flights. it's carrying a crew of three

astronauts and there will be a holiday welcoming ceremony when they get there. best buy canceling some online orders, including those made back on black friday. the electronics retailer says it was simply overwhelmed by the number of online sales and, unfortunately, it has run out of merchandise. light snow falling in parts of new england could cause some minor travel delays this morning. travelers also dealing with some headaches down in atlanta after a powerful storm there caused a nearly three-hour ground stop at hartsfield jackson international airport affecting some 5,200 planes. and norad counting down the minutes until santa claus takes off. of course the u.s. tracks him. the north american erica mand using high-tech stuff to track st. nick again this year. k kids can see when santa is getting close with a new smartphone app. that's the news you need to know to start your day.

"american morning" coming back right after the other side of the break.

well, welcome back. big stars, big giving. that's our special series that shines the spotlight on celebrities and the causes they support. and as far as stars go, you don't get much bigger than jennifer lopez. >> from jenny from the block to "american idol" judge, she seemingly does it all. but it was a health scare with one of her twins that inspired her to give back to all the women and children who are less fortunate. just like she has done with her career, she's dreaming big. ♪

she's hollywood's triple threat. she sings, dances, acts. >> you did not just poke me. >> reporter: and now she's a judge on "american idol." >> you're going to hollywood! >> reporter: she's jennifer lopez. you're a mother, you're philanth ropist, you're an actress, singer, dancer, you're a judge on "american idol." >> i'm tired. >> how do you do it all? >> i don't know. i don't know. one day at a time. ♪ one step at a time >> reporter: the theme song of her life and also the maribel foundation a nonprofit she started with her sister in 2008. it was a health scare with her newborn daughter, emme, that encouraged her to act.

>> she had this lump on her head all of a sudden and it was kind of soft and felt like water a little bit. >> what did you think? >> i didn't know what it was. i showed it to marc and i was like if this baby is not okay, i'm not going to be okay. we called the doctor in the middle of the night, we had access to the best health care. we had all this privilege and i realized that when i went home and i was lying there at like 4:00 in the morning and i was like, what if i didn't have that? what if i was a mom just sitting there and there was something wrong with my baby. no mother or child should ever have to go through that. luckily for us it turned out okay. >> reporter: lopez went to the world renowned children's hospital los angeles and asked them, how can i help? >> they were like, well, there's a very new program called a telemedicine program. >> reporter: did you know what it was? >> not really, no. i didn't. it's a technology, basically, where doctors from anywhere in the world can talk to each other. >> reporter: through video

conferencing. the first telemedicine center sponsored by the maribel foundation opened this year in puerto rico. panama is next. >> are you cute? i mean, that's the great part of being in the position i'm in. we can actually make a difference and really, really help people. the same dreamer in me that wanted to sing and dance and do all that is the same dreamer in me that wants to do something amazing for the world. >> really was a pleasure to sit down with jennifer lopez. you know you hear the word telemedicine and it does bring specialists from the best corners of the world to places that don't have access to that type of health care and you might think it's such a great idea, why isn't it more prevalent and it's because it's expensive. $300,000 to $400,000 to set up the center in puerto rico and

another to maintain. what jennifer lopez is doing is certainly helping move the meadal to bringing more health care to mothers and children and it's a great thing. good for her. >> she'll change a couple lives and make a big difference, for sure. >> don't miss my holiday special tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. and again on sunday christmas day at 4:00 p.m. eastern. well, it is four minutes to 9:00. that's 56 minutes to the hour. >> we're back after this. i can't keep a secret, so i'm doing christmas last minute...

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♪ chestnuts roasting on an open fire ♪ ♪ jack frost nipping at your nose ♪ that's our hard-working "american morning" staff that brings you a great show every morning and before we forget, we wanted to wish all of you out there a very happy festivus. festivus is celebrated every december 23rd. so, you may not be going anywhere or doing anything, but on festivus, it's time to celebrate. it was handed down by its creator george's dad in seinfeld. if you don't know what festivus is, well, take a listen. >> many christmases ago i went to buy a doll for my son. i reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. i realized there had to be another way. >> what happened to the doll? >> it was destroyed. but out of that, a new holiday s